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Coinbase Super Bowl Ad Maybe Too Successful


One of the oddest Super Bowl ads last night was a 60-second spot from Coinbase.

The ad, which appeared in the first quarter, featured a multicolored QR Code that bounces up and down, like the action of an Atari video game, circa 1985. The score was an electronic version of the classic Motown song “Money.”

If you had a QR code reader on your phone and scanned your TV screen during the ad, it took you to a promotional page that promised you $15 of Bitcoin for creating an account.

So the ad was an audacious bet, right? Sure, but the problem was that the ad was too successful. As Inc. reports, the ad generated more traffic than Coinbase could handle, causing it to crash. A crashing site doesn’t inspire confidence in a cryptocurrency exchange.

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That’s not a selling point for a site like Coinbase, so many deemed Coinbase’s  $14 million or so investment a failure. That’s because the ad merely confused most viewers, who don’t use a QR code reader,

On the other hand, Coinbase rocketed from No. 186 to No. 2 on the U.S. App Store, so there is proof that paying for a Super Bowl ad works -- as long as you make sure your site is ready for the traffic.

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